NFL.com slams Silberman tryout, without slamming NFL for allowing it

Posted by Mike Florio on March 4, 2013, 7:08 PM EDT

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Well, the circle is now complete.

The NFL allowed kicker-who-has-never-kicked Lauren Silberman to pay the $275 fee and show up for a Regional Scouting Combine. The NFL went all in with the publicity stunt, spending far more time hyping her participation than checking her credentials.

And now that the Silberman’s tryout ended in failure, the NFL is aggressively pounding the nails into her football coffin.

Aditi Kinkhabwala of NFL.com, who drew the short straw to spend her Sunday afternoon at the Jets’ facility watching players far too pedestrian to play even for the team that owns the place, has penned an impressive take down of Silberman.

Yes, it was a sideshow. A sideshow that the NFL inexplicably embraced, in an apparent effort to lay the foundation for its plan to launch American (Football) Idol, via Regional Scouting Combines that produce folks who get a shot at the Indianapolis edition.

Hopefully with intriguing, marketable, and unique personal stories.

Here’s where it becomes impossible to draw the lines between the NFL and NFL Media. (And, no, I’m not better than that.) NFL Media pretends at times to be independent, but as the title of the organization confirms it’s necessarily not. And when NFL Media produces something that appears on the surface to be independent, it’s fair to wonder whether there’s another agenda.

Still, it’s impossible to call out Silberman (which Kinkhabwala does) without calling out the league (which she doesn’t). Silberman didn’t belong there, and the NFL knew or should have known it.

“[S]he disrespected the 37 other kickers in New Jersey on Sunday who’ve spent lifetimes honing their craft.” Kinhabwala writes. “She blithely said her friends saw her kick somewhere in that amorphous time she began kicking and told her, ‘You should try out for the NFL.’ Like it’s that easy.”

Apparently, it is. Because the NFL let Silberman in. And that’s the subject Kinkhabwala conspicuously omitted from her article.

Or maybe she didn’t. Maybe she did, and someone else at NFL Media killed it.

The worst part about this, which I haven’t heard mentioned anywhere, is what a shame that a “real” female kicker didn’t get this spot to try out. There have been college kickers that certainly would have put on a good ol’ college try vs. this sham. It just sets back a woman ever trying out again. This lady did way more harm than good.

It’s disingenuous to assert that she should have come out and criticized the organization that employs her directly. I think she did a pretty good job of expressing her disdain for the situation without jeopardizing her own career.

This from a guy who endlessly pimps and rarely if ever criticizes the NFL coverage of the company that signs his checks.

I believe she shouldn’t be in the NFL and the NFL didn’t want a civil lawsuit on them so they agreed to let her “try”. Equal Opportunity Employment. Descrimination against women and all that blah blah.
I give her credit for trying though. credit to the league for opening the door.

She knew how bad she was. She exploited the NFL, the NFL exploited the female angle. Based on her preformance, she just wanted 15 minutes of fame. The NFL doesn’t care, it gets more publicity, money, and moves on.

What about that big Norwegian kicker from YouTube I first read about on this site? Didn’t he even work with an NFL coach during the offseason? Did he kick at any combine events? I’d much rather read about him, then the continual beating of this dead horse.

rosmith51 says:Mar 4, 2013 7:50 PM

I’ve got an idea… why don’t you write *another* article about how this person was just creating a publicity stunt? Mention her name another dozen times?

Her $275 investment looks better and better each time you crank out another story about her.

Even if a woman made it into the NFL, she would be endlessly tested for steriods until she was caught or just gave up from frustration.

mumakata says:Mar 4, 2013 8:10 PM

So, a reporter who has never played the game is criticising a player who at least attempted to tryout to see if she had what takes. Petty, meanspirited and just immature. Reporters sometimes are just leeches.

What do you think the reaction of the media would have been if they had not let her try out? I can just imagine the outcry of sex discrimination. Just as an example, one of the local news stations where I live reported on her tryout, and the reporter didn’t even realize that it wasn’t the real NFL Combine in Indy. Then the local reporter said that it was too bad she was not able to complete the tryout due to the quad injury, and hoped that she would be allowed another NFL tryout.

roadtrip3500 says:Mar 4, 2013 8:36 PM

Maybe the NFL should invite some of the girls who have participated in Punt, Pass and Kick… some of those young ladies can launch a football as good as the boys.

This all seems blown out of proportion. Didn’t she get hurt? She clearly pulled something on the first kick. She played or plays soccer. Im sure she can do better than that. I could kick further, and my athletism goes as far as chopping firewood and packing a bowl.

yajas says:Mar 4, 2013 11:03 PM

I’m confused. Did I miss an article where new facts came out about this? Since when is getting hurt but still trying to go through with it a shame? What would everyone have said if she backed out ahead of time because she got hurt? I think some people wake up every morning eager to find something they can display their phony outrage about.